I've been having discussions with the Sylvia Pankhurst Gender Research Centre at Manchester Metropolitan University recently and their data regarding new mothers returning to work shows that 3 out of 4 new mothers in the UK experience negative or possibly discriminatory treatment in the workplace, despite 4 out of 5 employers believing that they should support pregnancy, maternity and return to work.

According to a national review conducted last year, which surveyed women who had returned to work following maternity (HM Government/EHRC, 2016):

11% of women felt so poorly treated they were forced to leave their job

20% of women experienced harassment or negative comments

51% of women who returned to work flexibly suffered negative consequences.

It's no wonder the nations mummies felt the need to march today...

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The campaign group says that 54,000 women a year are pushed out of their job for getting pregnant and 77 per cent of working mums endure negative or discriminatory treatment in the workplace. These numbers have almost doubled in the last 10 years.
Motherhood is also a key contributor to the gender pay gap with women who have had children by the age of 33 earning 15 per cent less than their peers who remained childless.